Rangers vs. Penguins: Lineups, storylines, how to watch road rematch
It’s a little early in the season to be thinking about payback. Yet, here we are. The New York Rangers get a crack at evening the score with the Pittsburgh Penguins when the teams meet Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.
Just four days after a season-opening 3-0 loss at home to the Penguins, the Rangers get a quick rematch, this time in the Steel City.
Each team played a game in between that one and this one. The Rangers (1-1-0) blanked the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 on the road Thursday; and at the same time, the Penguins (2-0-0) edged the Islanders 4-3 in their home opener.
To say that the Rangers played with more energy against the Sabres than they did in a fairly lifeless performance against the Penguins earlier in the week is an understatement. Perhaps more than a bit motivated to play a better all-around game, the Rangers came out flying in Buffalo, firing 16 shots on goal in the first period after totaling 25 over 60 minutes against the Penguins.
Some bad habits crept into the Rangers play as the game progressed, and they leaned heavily on goalie Igor Shesterkin, who didn’t let them down in a brilliant 37-save outing. Three late third-period goals — including an empty-netter by Adam Fox — made it look like a runaway victory. But coach Mike Sullivan and the Rangers know it was anything but.
However, even when the Rangers struggled — taking penalties, some sloppy defensive play –it was more a case of commission not omission. It was the opposite of their effort on opening night against the Penguins.
Speaking of effort and energy, new Penguins coach Dan Muse is on the receiving end of much early-season praise for his undefeated team’s exciting up-tempo pace of play and renewed effort. The Penguins failed to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past three seasons under Sullivan, and had the feel of a stale team going nowhere. Not so, at least so far, in the early going.
It all sets up for an intriguing rematch between Metropolitan Division rivals on Saturday night.
3 storylines when Rangers visit Penguins
1. Homecoming
Sullivan returns to Pittsburgh for the first time since mutually parting ways with the Penguins at the end of last season. He coached them for 10 seasons and led the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017. No coach won more games (409) than Sullivan in Penguins history.
So, as much as Sullivan prefers to downplay his return to Pittsburgh on Saturday, it’s a big deal. Expect a video tribute from the Penguins during a TV timeout, and plenty of memories and emotions for the Rangers coach — even if he keeps the latter in check.
Sure, the past few seasons didn’t go so well for Sullivan and the Penguins. But the success he achieved in Pittsburgh greatly outweighs the failures, and he’s deserving of a champion’s welcome from the Penguins and their fans Saturday night.
2. Rangers without the hometown kid
Pittsburgh native Vincent Trocheck won’t play against the Penguins and is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old Rangers center sustained the injury Thursday in Buffalo, when he left the game in the second period and didn’t return.
Trocheck never missed a game to this point since signing with the Rangers as a free agent in July of 2022. He’s not only durable, but dependable and invaluable with his ability to play major minutes in all game situations. Trocheck simply is one of the most difficult players to replace in the Rangers lineup.
On Saturday, expect Mika Zibanejad to take Trocheck’s spot, centering a line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. Conor Sheary will move up from the third line to replace Zibanejad at right wing alongside J.T. Miller and Will Cuylle. Juuso Parssinen draws into the lineup to take Sheary’s place as left wing on the third line.
3. Busy Blueshirts
After this game, the Rangers fly home to host the Washington Capitals on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. This is the first of 12 back-to-back sets on the 2025-26 schedule for the Rangers. It’s also part of an extremely busy start to the season — four games in six days, and eight in 14.
That doesn’t leave much practice time to work out kinks with the new systems. Already, the Rangers were off Friday, and have another off-day Monday.
It’s also a serious test for Panarin and Miller. Each veteran forward is trying to get up to speed physically after missing all (Panarin) or most (Miller appeared in one game) of the preseason. Miller looked very sluggish in the season opener, but had much more jump and contributed two points (one goal, one assist) Thursday against the Sabres. Panarin’s played 20+ minutes in each of the first two games, but appears out of sync and content to stay outside on the perimeter.
Let’s see how these two key Rangers hold up with the busy schedule.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle — J.T. Miller — Conor Sheary
Juuso Parssinen — Noah Laba– Taylor Raddysh
Adam Edstrom — Sam Carrick — Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Carson Soucy — Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen — Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Rangers vs. Penguins: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
When: Saturday Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: PPG Paints Arena
How to watch: MSG
More About: New York Rangers News